Emily Post's Etiquette

Randy. - my friend from Wichita came to visit this weekend. He got the grand tour of Ringwood,  of Indian Creek Winery, and of course Enid. We went to the "Emporium" an antique mall in Enid. I found the most amazing  book! "Emily Post's Etiquette" The Blue Book of Social Usage.  On the front cover it says "To My Readers: I have completely rewritten this new edition of ETIQUETTE because the problems of modern life demand certain changes in the forms of living.  All of the fundamental principles, of course, have been left untouched.  I have omitted certain non-essential customs and old-fashioned ideas; and I have added much new material in the hope that this book will continue to be as useful in its many years to come, as the old editions have been in the past. Emily Post"

This is the 76th printing in 1950. The original edition copyright was in 1922.

I have greatly enjoyed skimming through many parts this evening. I've got to wonder what "old fashioned " ideas Miss Post removed from the book! Here are some of the chapter titles:

• Visiting-Cards and Their Uses
• The Vanished Chaperon and Other Lost Conventions
• Telephone Courtesy
• Smoking Etiquette
• Formal Correspondence
• Manners for Motorists
• Maids' Dining Alcove in an Apartment
• The Tray for a Guest Who Breakfasts in Bed

When was the last time we gave thought to visiting cards, chaperons or courtesy on the phone?? :)
How would you really feel if you had guests and they said before retiring to bed, "Oh, I'll take breakfast in bed at 9:00. I'm up a little late tonight!"
Maybe we should post "Manners for Motorists" on our sun-visors! It surely couldn't hurt, could it?
I am greatly enjoying this book and feel like I got a great bargain at $6.00. Thank you Randy for the joy of looking at "junk"...

Emily Post's Etiquette: The Blue Book of Social Usage 1950 Edition

Little Golden Books

One of my collections includes "Little Golden Books." My favorite "Ben and Me" with my name inside was published in 1954. My first history lesson! It's about Benjamin Franklin and the story is told by a mouse named Amos that lived with Ben. I still believe that Amos is the one who created bifocals!

     Then my second favorite is "Mr. Wiggs Birthday Party" a story from Mary Poppins. This one also has my name in it and it was published in 1952.

     When I first became a "serious" :) collector of books it was these two that got me interested in Little Golden Books. So now I keep my eyes open for great finds. I love it when the book has a name inside because that shows me it was loved and had a history.

My collection is still small but it includes:

• Seven Little Postmen  with Carol's name in it. It was published in 1952
• The Pokey Little Puppy that was given to "Buttons" from Aunt Elsie,           Published in 1942.
• The Saggy Baggy Elephant was published in 1947 and has no name in it.  :(
• Donny and Marie The Top Secret Project When I saw this one for sale, I just couldn't resist!! It was published in 1977 and was given to Mandy from her Grandpa and Grandma.
• The Happy Little Whale 1969 edition. No name.
• Pebbles Flintstone with no name and published in 1963.
• Mike was the previous owner of Scuffy the Tugboat This was the 8th printing - in 1955. The book was first published in 1946.
• Mary Poppins A Jolly Holiday published in 1964.
• Heidi belonged to a Library and was published in 1954.
• Dr. Dan at the Circus published in 1960
• Exploring Space was owned by Richard and it was published in 1958.

     Most of these books are in very good shape. I will admit the ones the most worn are my two personal copies!  You can tell I spent hours looking and reading these two books.

     Think of all the children that have enjoyed "Little Golden Books" over the years.

And if you have any stuck away someplace - I would be more than happy to  give them a home with my own collection!!

Journals

I don't keep a journal. I never have. I've tried many many times but just never had the discipline to write personal things on a regular basis. However, because I like to read friends always think I like to write. Which I don't really. But I had a small stack of journals that had been given to me as gifts. Have you ever gone into a bookstore and looked at the journals? They always have such great covers. It does make you want to buy one. But then, what to do with it. Well believe it or not :) I've found a use for my journals.

The first one is a navy blue one that Holly gave me for Christmas one year. She was on a very limited budget found a fairly plain journal, typed up wonderful quotes, printed them off and stuck them on pages throughout the journal. Very clever idea and I wanted to use the journal because it was so clever. So on January 1, 2005, I started keeping a list of every book I read. I would put the title, the author, the month and I started "staring" them. 1 through 5 - with 5 being the best. Then as time went on, if I read a particularly meaningful book, I would write a couple of sentences about the book. Then more time went on and I started writing important things that had happened in our family. Well on January 1, 2010 I had to start the second book list journal. From 01-01-2005 until 12-31-2009 I had read approximately 475 books. I say approximately because in 2009 I got bogged down in life and would forget to write titles down.
Okay, so then once about 4 years ago, I read a fiction book about a woman that constantly made lists. Not to-do lists like we all do sometimes but lists of 10 things. Shelley - my daughter-in-law gave me a beautiful pink journal. So I started a journal of lists. Here's an example of some of my lists: 10 Things to do on Saturdays; 10 Things I accomplished in 2007; 10 Reasons I love my church; - on the eve of my Mother-in-laws funeral I made a list - 10 things I loved about Anne, the next evening I made a list - 10 things I liked about Anne's funeral; 10 Places I want to visit; recently I added a list with no numbers  - Men I've dated since my divorce. ( this of course is a SHORT list!!) I have had much fun with this journal. I have probably about 50 lists in this book! Some fun, some sad.
I had received another journal from a friend Sandra for Christmas in 2007. I had been reading the Mitford books and got this idea from Jan Karon - I started writing quotes in it. I love quotes and so this one has been particularly fun for me. There are too many for me to list all my favorites but my friend Jim has given me 2 favorites from his Dad: "Honesty is like pregnancy - you either are or you ain't". The other is "Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment".  From The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Juliet says "Naturally curly hair is a curse, and don't ever let anyone tell you different." That is one of my personal favorites! 
I love my journals. I never thought a few years ago that I would ever say anything positive about journals - but I really do love my journals!